S&P 500 Is Reporting Third Highest Net Profit Margin for Q1 Since 2008

Concerns about inflation may be rising. U.S. consumer prices increased 2.6% (year-over-year) in March compared to a 1.7% year-over-year increase in February, which marked the largest month-over-month increase (2.6% vs. 1.7%) in the CPI inflation rate since 2009. The jump in consumer inflation is being fed by higher producer prices. The March PPI was up 4.2% (year-over-year), which was the biggest year-over-year increase since September 2011. In addition, more S&P 500 companies (47) have cited the term “inflation” on their earnings calls for Q1 2021 through this point in time in the earnings season in more than 10 years. Given these inflation concerns, what is the S&P 500 reporting for a net profit margin in the first quarter?